Hosting G20 meeting, Bessent tries to rally allies on Iran as tariffs strain ties

31 August 2026 at 18:04

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is meeting with finance ministers of the world's largest economies this week at a time when the United States has disrupted the international order with aggressive tariffs on major allies and an unpopular war on Iran.

Treasury Department blocks certain journalists from covering G20 meeting

PBS News Hour - The Latest

By: Ben Finley · Associated Press

31 August 2026 at 14:47

The New York Times said in a statement that denying American journalists access to an event in the U.S. is "not just another disturbing effort by the administration to undermine independent journalism, but a blatant attempt to evade public scrutiny."

House lawmakers return to Capitol Hill as Republicans hope to pass stopgap spending bill – live

The Guardian

By: Shrai Popat (now) · Lucy Campbell and Tom Ambrose (earlier)

31 August 2026 at 20:50

The US House is back after a five-week recess; government funding is guaranteed through 30 September

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Chris Hippensteel

We’re watching today as Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, and Kevin Warsh, the chair of the Federal Reserve, deliver their opening remarks at the G20 meetings in Asheville, North Carolina.

Trump’s ballroom construction can resume at White House, supreme court rules – as it happened

World news | The Guardian

By: Nick Robins-Early · Shrai Popat · Lucy Campbell and Tom Ambrose

1 September 2026 at 04:58

This live blog is now closed.

US supreme court allows Trump to keep building $400m White House ballroom

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Chris Hippensteel

We’re watching today as Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, and Kevin Warsh, the chair of the Federal Reserve, deliver their opening remarks at the G20 meetings in Asheville, North Carolina.

AI could cause global economic downturn, Bank of England governor tells G20

The Guardian

By: Simon Goodley

31 August 2026 at 12:00

Andrew Bailey, in role as financial stability watchdog chief, warns advanced models risk destabilising system

The Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, has joined the throng of figures warning about the global risks posed by the most advanced artificial intelligence technology.

In a two-page letter sent to international finance ministers and central bank governors as part of his role as chair of the international Financial Stability Board (FSB), Bailey said “frontier” AI models were “showing increasingly sophisticated autonomy and problem-solving abilities, as well as threat capabilities”.

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